pre-2011 web resources

[Anonymous]

This site has some interesting videos. They seem a little dry though. I think that there would be a problem in holding the student's attention. However, most of them seem like they are short - only about three minutes. This is a good link. I think that I would use the site for students who want to do some extra credit assignments. I 'll have them watch the videos and then write a summary.

http://web-jpn.org/jvt/en/index.html [Edit by="dsenteno on Jan 21, 6:00:26 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This is a cool site. The virtual games that are on the site are fun. As you said it is perfect for ELL kids or low performing students who crave something with high interest. I spent about 20 minutes playing the games myself. Virtual Japanese house and virtual calligraphy were fun. Thanks for the heads up!

http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/%5BEdit by="dsenteno on Jan 21, 6:00:59 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This website is fun and interactive. If you have any students that would like to learn some Chinese characters, check out:

http://pbskids.org/sagwa/games/picturesaswords/index.html

The website shows simple pictures such as mouth, eye, umbrella and the characters that represent each word. The students then match each picture to the character. The game doesn't get harder as you improve, but it's a good starting point.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the information on this site. Not only does it have excellent information about the Chinese New Year, as you said, but it also has pictures and information on "Chinese Accomplishments" which includes printing, paper making, the compass and gunpowder. My students went to this site on Friday when we discussing Chinese inventions for the medieval China unit. I am so happy to finally be able to direct them to websites that are ELL friendly.

http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html
[Edit by="kllewellyn on Jan 21, 7:43:19 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I was so impressed with the China website that you recommended that I took your word that this website was a must for the Japan Unit in 7th grade and went to check it out. Easy for the kids to use and gives so much more information on the culture than the textbook does. Easy to understand to it is perfect for my ELL students. I especially love the article on the tea ceremony as I felt that I didn't give this as much time as it deserved last year. I am going to let the other teachers at my school know about this site. Thanks again........

http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/japan/japanhome.html

[Edit by="kllewellyn on Jan 21, 7:57:14 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

So, as a fifth-grade teacher I don't get to teach a lot of ancient history, but I do like to educate my students about the many cultures that make up this world (as they only really interact with one or two). So I modified one of my mom's sixth grade lessons about Ancient China for my students.

We looked at some websites (see below) featuring imperial robes of various eras, and I explained about the symbology. (I found a page on the Kyoto Museum's website: http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/data/senshoku/c_ryuho.htm , very useful for finding out what all the symbols mean.) I mentioned how these robes and symbols reveal what was important to people of the time. I then asked them to design their own robes, as if they were an emperor.

What symbols would they use? Why? Where would they place them? What does that say about themselves?

I found this valuable not only for deepening their understanding of foreign dress, but also as a great way to get to know how the students see themselves, and what qualities they value.

Some websites with pictures of robes:

http://www.asianfineart.com/images/manchurian_emperor.jpg

http://www.asia.msu.edu/eastasia/China/History/Graphics/Quianlong%20Emperor.gif

http://www.posterunlimited.com/imagebase/CLA/jpgs/CC585.jpg

http://www.chinapage.com/images/dragonrobe2.jpg

http://www.solomon.cps.k12.il.us/roeschleyindex.html

http://www.mutanteggplant.com/vitro-nasu/images/robe.jpg

http://www.asianartistsonline.com/images/home-decor/embroidery/aIMG_3661.jpg

If you find any more, please let me know!
-m@x

[Anonymous]

You forgot the best part!

After the kids have designed their robes, then they draw the designs life-size on two body-shaped pieces of butcher paper. (To get body-shaped butcher paper, you have one student lie down on the paper while another traces around him.) Then you staple the two pieces together at the shoulders and the students have a robe they can wear.

I had my students do an "Imperial Procession" around the classroom where they had to teach the class about an ancient emperor they chose and explain their robes. We even took the "show on the road" and went around to other classes at the school!

-Mom
(Linda Zarou)

[Anonymous]

Website Overview

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/ChinaQuest.html
This webquest is written for about a 7-8 grade level. Yes, I teach high school but when it comes to webquests (self-directed web-based lessons/inquiries) I try and make sure the level is more basic than normal materials I would use. That way I can ensure that all of my students (ELL and Resource) find it accessible.

This webquest is very much a structured lesson, the site clearly states the goals for student achievement and a rubric that students can use to gauge their success. The students are instructed to form into teams, with each member of the team representing a specific American personality (i.e. Senator, environmentalist, etc.) instructed to take on a specific role and answer this question “What actions should the U.S. take in its policy towards China?” Each personality is directed to go to SEVERAL websites that provide information on various issues, religion, democracy and even art, this is called the “dossier”. Each personality takes the information that they learned at the various different sites and then responds to questions the quest poses. All the responses are typed directly into the site and then those responses a put together to form a report. After all the reports are written the students get back together as whole, they discuss their reports and then are asked to do more research and create one report that answers the essential question “What actions should the U.S. take in its policy towards China? Just when you think the assignment is done. The students are told that they need to find three sources, to send their report to for feedback, their Senator, teachers, parents etc.

Website Review

This is one of the most ambitious webquests that I have ever seen. I think that the whole thing would easily take 4-6, 50-minute class periods and I know that I would have to help the students quite a bit along the way. Unfortunately, this quest has a few typos “gig” instead of “big” and a few of the links are not working. I don’t know if I could do this in my class. I think that it might be a neat thing to try in my government class as part of the a unit on foreign relations. I think that it might be too high level for my 10th graders, maybe I was wrong and this site is not for middle school. Although, the vocabulary makes me think that is was written for a level lower than high school the tasks are very challenging. I would like to try and do this with a10th grade class but I would worry that it could be just way too involved a project for them.

[Anonymous]

http://www.chinapage.com

To start this site has a great URL but after that I was disappointed with the content. I thought that is layout of the site was amateurish which would not be a problem if the content was better. (I feel sort of bad writing that, seeing as how I couldn’t make a site any better, but there is just something about the look of the page that does not appeal to me). Perhaps the site is more appropriate for readers of Chinese. Much of the content contained Chinese characters and it seemed that some but not all if it was all translated into English. I also came across a few of the pages on the site that was written in all Chinese.

What ever the site lacks in style it makes up for in quantity. This site was filled with interesting links, pictures, quotes, and general information. I found it interesting and it provided me with a few pieces of useful information. But overall I don’t think that it would be very useful as a teaching resource.

[Anonymous]

Here's a cute little site about the history of Chinese mathematics.

http://saxakali.com/COLOR_ASP/chinamh1.htm

It's lively and colorful and provides a kid-friendly overview of a not very well known history. A little digging and I found out it's a part of the Saxakali People of Color Portal, a fascinating (if somewhat unprofessional and anti-American(not that that's a bad thing)) network of links to various oppressed groups. But don't worry, the politics stop when you get to the History of Math section.

Anyways, I would recommend this site for students to use, but I think teachers could probably get this information better elsewhere.

m@x

p.s. here's a picture of my kids using abacuses.

[Anonymous]

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/mausoleum_1.htm

Here is a site with some great pictures of the terra cotta army at Qin Shi Huang Di's mausoleum. Not as good as the ones we'll be taking in July, but pretty good.

This site doesn't stop at the warriors, though, it explores the whole tomb. I found it very interesting, and I would definitely use this in the classroom.

Has anybody found any other good sites about this site?

[Anonymous]

Friday afternoon as my students shuffled into the classroom and got ready to begin class, one student kept waving his hand and shouting, "Ms. Zarou! Ms. Zarou!"

Now everyone in my class knows that you enter the classroom quietly, start working on your journal and--unless the classroom is on fire--there are no questions or comments until after I take roll. That's my rule and if you break it you have a pretty good chance of getting a two-page "Quiet Essay" to copy.

This exuberant little runt of a kid was taking an awful risk but he just kept shouting, "Ms. Zarou! Ms. Zarou!" Luckily I was feeling particularly benevolent this afternoon so rather than trounce on him as I usually do, I replied, "What IS it, Calvin?"

"Ms. Zarou! Ms. Zarou! I was watching the Discovery Channel last night and they said there was going to be a special on the First Emperor of China! It's going to be on Sunday night!"

My heart melted. We had long ago finished our unit on Ancient China and we were on to other countries, other cultures, other assignments. We hadn't mentioned Ancient China in class in weeks.

"Wow! That is fantastic Calvin," I exclaimed. "And who was the first emperor of China?"

In unison, the entire class responded, "CHIN!"

"And how do you spell 'Chin,'" I asked.

Again in unison, "Q-I-N!"

"Calvin, go pick out a toy from the goodie box for telling us about the program. Everyone else, extra credit to anyone who watches it and writes me a paragraph about what you see."

If you are a 6th grade teacher, I do not have to say any more. You know the pride you feel when your kids come through. I believe my class will remember forever the first emperor of China and that is at least one thing more about China than my previous classes learned. Of course I believe they learned and retained many additional facts and concepts this year about China and this is due primarily to the influence of our seminar, "East Asia and New Media in My Classroom."

I also believe that many of them will watch the show tonight not for the extra credit but because they are truly interested in Qin.

I hope you get a chance to watch it too and maybe tape it. It is on tonight, Sunday at 9:00pm on the Discovery channel. There are many reviews on the web. Here's one:

http://www.tv.com/the-first-emperor--the-man-who-made-china/show/51793/summary.html&full_summary=1

Linda

[Anonymous]

There are some great websites out their about these fascinating discoveries and artifacts. If you go to http://planetjeff.net/LadyHao/ you can download a program with a 3-d interactive computer model of the Shang Dynasty tomb of Lady Hao! What a great tool for the classroom!

Linda

[Anonymous]

http://www.gigglepotz.com/china.htm

Another delightful little site about China! It's amazing how much you find when you look. I really want to thank Prof. Dube for giving us these assignments.

Anyway, I think this site is a great introduction to use for students interested in modern day China. It's full of games and activities, but also loads of information accessible to elementary or middle school students.

Have fun!

Linda

[clay dube]

Linda's encouraged us to watch the Discovery special on the "man who made china," the first emperor Qin Shi huang. Some might enjoy Jaime FlorCruz's Time article about the discovery of the Qin tomb in 1974:

http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/99/0927/xian.html

This article was part of the magazine's marking of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

There's been some scrambling for credit for the discovery, in part motivated by the possibility of earning some autographing money. Here's a link to a 2003 People's Daily article on the matter:

http://english.people.com.cn/200312/14/eng20031214_130377.shtml

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